Canadian Land Reclamation Association Site Tour

Welcoming New Members

In May, we were pleased to welcome members of the Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) for a site tour of the Sheerness mine in Hanna, Alberta. The CLRA “encourages personal and corporate involvement where reclamation or rehabilitation of disturbed lands is planned or implemented.” 
 
Formerly a coal mine, the Sheerness mine has been given new life as a source for Humalite, a certified-organic soil amendment. Humalite is formed over millions of years during the decomposition of organic materials in the earth and offers a variety of benefits including improved water retention and enhanced microbial activity. 

More than 50 people from the CLRA joined us for the tour, consisting of four stops. During the first stop, attendees observed how Humalite is crushed and screened for size for the humic products sold by WestMET Ag. The next stop on the tour took the group to the Humalite pit where the pure, raw Humalite is sourced for each of the products, which include a 6 mm granule for agricultural use, a 1-2 mm medium-sized granule for turf applications and a <1 mm fine-powdered product for horticulture and manufacturing applications. 

Soil Laydown Stage

Stop 3 consisted of learning about the soil laydown stage of earth restoration handled by ERS. Attendees viewed heavy machinery in action from a distance, moving and levelling subsoil and topsoil to prepare the land for the next stages of rehabilitation. The final stop of the tour visited a reclaimed wetland on the site. The restoration in the area has included cover crop planting, native seed mixtures and rotational grazing to improve the surrounding land. 

Thanks to the Alberta Chapter of the CLRA for coming out to visit our site! It was a pleasure to host the group.